Minimally invasive surgery is preferable to non-minimally invasive surgery. Conventionally, many spinal surgeries include the placement of implants through minimally invasive techniques.
However, conventional methods and devices still require cutting muscle tissue about the spine decreasing the effectiveness of minimally invasive procedure. For example, and much abbreviated from the actual procedure, when placing a rod and two pedicle screws, a surgeon may use a navigation system to locate where the surgeon want to place the screw. The surgeon inserts a guide wire and dilator to the located point and threads the pedicle screw into the pedicle. The surgeon repeats the process for the second pedicle screw. Once the screws are placed, a surgical incision is made to provide access such that a spinal rod can be inserted between the screws. Except by happenstance, the surgeon needs to cut through muscle fiber to insert the spinal rod. Cutting the muscle reduces the effectiveness of the minimally invasive surgery.
It would be advantageous to develop a device and method that would drastically reduce the need to cut muscle fiber during minimally invasive surgical procedures.